Creighton Bluejays vs Villanova Wildcats Prediction, 3/3/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Creighton Bluejays vs Villanova Wildcats

Date: Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Location: Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, PA

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Creighton (+4)

The Creighton Bluejays (17-6) travel to Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday where they'll meet the Villanova Wildcats (15-4). The odds on this matchup have Villanova as 4-point favorites. The over/under opens at 146.5.

Creighton comes into this matchup with a win-loss record of 17-6 on the season. They lose possession via turnover 11.2 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 15.4 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Creighton is collecting 35.8 rebounds per game and has tallied 368 dimes for the season, which is 29th in college hoops in terms of passing. The Bluejays are hitting 36.7% on shots from distance (223 of 608) and 65.7% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 78.6 points per contest (40th in D-1) while hitting 48.4% from the field. Defensively, the Bluejays are forcing 13.0 turnovers every game and they draw 16.7 personal fouls. The Bluejays defense is allowing a FG percentage of 40.5% (574 of 1,419) and they surrender 36.7 boards per game as a unit. They currently rank 229th in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 292 conceded for the season. They are conceding 32.8% on shots from downtown and they rank 134th in college basketball in opponents PPG (68.8).

The Creighton Bluejays faced off with the Xavier Musketeers and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 77-69 in their last game. Creighton ended the game with a 42.6% field goal percentage (26 out of 61) and knocked down 9 of 25 3-point shots. When they shot from the free throw line, the Bluejays made 8 of their 16 shots for a percentage of 50.0%. When talking about getting rebounds, they compiled 29 with 5 of them being offensive. They also doled out 17 dimes for the contest in addition to forcing 10 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When discussing defending, Creighton allowed the other team to shoot 54.2% from the field on 32 out of 59 shooting. Xavier doled out 22 assists and had 5 steals in this contest. Additionally, Xavier had 33 boards (4 offensive, 29 defensive) and earned 9 rejections. Xavier finished the game at 75.0% at the charity stripe by making 6 of 8 shots. They buried 7 out of their 21 tries from 3-point range.

Damien Jefferson is someone who came through for the game. He left the arena with 19 points on 7 out of 12 shooting. He played 33 minutes and snagged 8 rebounds. Jefferson ended up going 58.3% from the floor but finished the game without a dime. An additional guy that was a factor in the game for the Bluejays was Marcus Zegarowski. He pulled down 2 rebounds in 38 min played. He finished the game shooting 42.9% from the floor in the game by hitting 6-of-14 (15 points). When the final whistle was blown, Zegarowski tallied 10 assists.

Villanova has a win-loss mark of 15-4 for the year. Villanova has totaled 1,467 points so far this year (77.2 per game) and they grab 34.2 boards per game. The Wildcats are responsible for committing 15.6 fouls per game and they go 78.2% from the free throw line. When it comes to offense, the Wildcats are connecting on 45.5% from the field, which is 107th in the nation. They are earning an assist 15.5 times per contest (57th in Division 1) and they turn the ball over 9.3 times per contest. The Wildcats defensively are ranked 109th in college hoops in points allowed per contest with 67.9. They are able to force 13.0 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.5% from the floor (273rd in D-1). The Villanova defense gives up 35.9% on shots from distance (151 of 421) and opponents are making 66.9% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 12.1 assists and 32.5 rebounds on a nightly basis, ranking them 107th and 71st in college hoops.

In their last game, the Villanova Wildcats took a loss by a final score of 73-61 against the Butler Bulldogs. The Wildcats were able to corral 22 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 for this game. They turned the ball over 8 times, while getting 2 steals in this game. The Bulldogs earned 10 fouls in this matchup which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for 12 attempts. They were able to bury 11 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 91.7%. In regard to 3-point shots, Villanova converted 2 out of their 27 attempts (7.4%). In all, the Wildcats finished shooting 24 out of 65 from the field which gave them a percentage of 36.9%. The Wildcats permitted the Bulldogs to make 27 of their 54 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 50.0% for the game. They finished shooting 41.7% from beyond the arc by going 10 out of 24 and walked away from this one shooting 9 of 20 from the free throw line (45.0%). When discussing rebounding, Villanova permitted Butler to collect 31 in all (7 on the offensive side).

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl ended up being important for the Wildcats for the contest. He converted 7 of 15 in the matchup for a rate of 46.7%, and tallied 16 rebounds. Robinson-Earl earned 16 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and earned 1 assist in this matchup. An additional guy that played a role for Villanova was Collin Gillespie. He accumulated 2 dimes in his 37 mins on the hardwood, and he shot 4 out of 12 from the floor. Gillespie wrapped this one up going 33.3% from the field in addition to contributing 14 points and 5 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Creighton (+4)

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